J4 ›› 2015, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (1): 16-21.

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Explore Properties of Dongba Character with Method of Proposition Production

  

  1. 1. Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; 2. College of Education Science, Jiangsu Normal
    University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, China; 3.The Center of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou
    510631, China; 4. Lijiang Jade Water Village Ecological Culture Tourism co., LTD, Lijiang, Yunnan 674100, China
  • Received:2014-06-08 Online:2015-01-15 Published:2015-01-15

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Abstract:

There are different academic opinions on properties of Dongba character, such as pictograph, hieroglyph and syntagm
words, but many of which lack of empirical study.Through the method of proposition production, Dongba characters were translated into
Chinese first and then the numbers of word and propositions were counted for comparing with the standard translation. The results
showed that there were significant differences between Dongba' translations and standard translation, no matter in the number of words
or the number of propositions. This means that Dongba character is not ideo-phonograph, but is more similar to picture words and
belongs to syntagm words in sentences organization. Dongba character, has considerable uncertainty in the expression, is in the period
of transition from picture word to ideograph. This special feature provides the properties of picture talk in the interpretation and
translation of Dongba scriptures.

Key words: Dongba character, proposition production, nature

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